The Land Of The Exile - Poem by Rabindranath Tagore

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Mother, the light has grown grey in the sky; I do not know whatthe time is. There is no fun in my play, so I have come to you. It isSaturday, our holiday. Leave off your work, mother; sit here by the window and tellme where the desert of Tepantar in the fairy tale is. The shadow of the rains has covered the day from end to end. The fierce lightning is scratching the sky with its nails. When the clouds rumble and it thunders, I love to be afraidin my heart and cling to you. When the heavy rain patters for hours on the bamboo leaves,and our windows shake and rattle at the gusts of wind, I like tosit alone in the room, mother, with you, and hear you talk aboutthe desert of Tepantar in the fairy tale. Where is it, mother, on the shore of what sea, at the foot ofwhat hills, in the kingdom of what king? There are no hedges there to mark the fields, no footpathacross it by which the villagers reach their village in theevening, or the woman who gathers dry sticks in the forest canbring her load to the market. With patches of yellow grass in thesand and only one tree where the pair of wise old birds have theirnest, lies the desert of Tepantar. I can imagine how, on just such a cloudy day, the young sonof the king is riding alone on a grey horse through the desert, insearch of the princess who lies imprisoned in the giant's palaceacross that unknown water. When the haze of the rain comes down in the distant sky, andlightning starts up like a sudden fit of pain, does he remember hisunhappy mother, abandoned by the king, sweeping the cow-stall andwiping her eyes, while he rides through the desert of Tepantar inthe fairy tale? See, mother, it is almost dark before the day is over, andthee are no travellers yonder on the village road. The shepherd boy has gone home early from the pasture, and menhave left their fields to sit on mats under the eaves of theirhuts, watching the scowling clouds. Mother, I have left all my books on the shelf-do not ask meto do my lessons now. When I grow up and am bid like my father, I shall learn allthat must be learnt. But just for today, tell me, mother, where the desert ofTepantar in the fairy tale is.